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Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial ProcedureRelease 119-73not60

§1659 Stay of Certain Actions Pending Disposition of Related Proceedings Before the United States International Trade Commission

Title 28 › Part V— PROCEDURE › Chapter 111— GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1659

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a person is both in a federal civil lawsuit and named as a respondent in a United States International Trade Commission (ITC) case under section 337, the district court must pause the civil case for any claim that raises the same issues as the ITC case until the ITC’s decision is final. The person must ask for the pause within 30 days after being named in the ITC case or within 30 days after the civil case is filed. After the pause ends, the ITC’s record must be sent to the district court and can be used in the civil case. The court can limit access with a protective order, and the record is allowed only as the Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure permit.

Full Legal Text

Title 28, §1659

Judiciary and Judicial Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In a civil action involving parties that are also parties to a proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, at the request of a party to the civil action that is also a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, the district court shall stay, until the determination of the Commission becomes final, proceedings in the civil action with respect to any claim that involves the same issues involved in the proceeding before the Commission, but only if such request is made within—
(1)30 days after the party is named as a respondent in the proceeding before the Commission, or
(2)30 days after the district court action is filed,
(b)Notwithstanding section 337(n)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, after dissolution of a stay under subsection (a), the record of the proceeding before the United States International Trade Commission shall be transmitted to the district court and shall be admissible in the civil action, subject to such protective order as the district court determines necessary, to the extent permitted under the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in text, is classified to section 1337 of Title 19, Customs Duties. The Federal Rules of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec. (b), are set out in the Appendix to this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable with respect to complaints filed under section 1337 of Title 19, Customs Duties, on or after the date on which the World Trade Organization Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], or in cases under section 1337 of Title 19 in which no complaint is filed, with respect to investigations initiated under such section on or after such date, see section 322 of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1994 Amendment note under section 1337 of Title 19.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

28 U.S.C. § 1659

Title 28 — Judiciary and Judicial Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60